The monsoon, which accounts for about 75% of India’s annual rainfall, is the lifeblood of its nearly $3 trillion agriculture-dependent economy.
Asia’s third-largest economy and the world’s top producer of a host of critical crops such as rice, wheat and sugar has received 11% more than average monsoon rain since the four-month season began on June 1. An average monsoon is rainfall between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 89cm over the season.
However, the uneven nature of this year’s monsoon – patchy in some areas, with torrential downpours in others – has raised concerns about crop yields and output, complicating government efforts to tame inflation.
